A New Dawn
by dianeg
Summary: Katniss and Peeta's daughter, Lily's POV. Many adventures to be discovered.
1. The Beginning

"My name is Lily Mellark. I'm fifteen. I live in District 12. My mother and father were in the Hunger Games."

I look at that last sentence and realise what I just wrote. I search for a new piece of paper, wrinkling the one in my hand in the process; but, of course, one of those things is nowhere to be found. "Schoolwork is tiring", I think to myself, and then decide I should take a break. I rush downstairs, where my family is having lunch. "Aren't you going to eat something, sweetheart?", my mother asks me. My first instinct is saying no; I always say no to whatever she suggests, since I found out; still, I am quite hungry. I sit down, not a single word coming out of my mouth, and take a piece of my father's bread. I try to eat it as fast as possible, wondering if they notice. If they ever notice that I've been cold and cruel to all of them for a very, very long time, I assume. I catch a glimpse of my little brother and I do notice him. I always do. He's the only person I am truly sure I love in this family. He's got that puppy look to his eyes that he always does. I think he gets it from our father, those big, brown eyes he has. It's hard to ignore him when his whole person emanates care, and warmth, and love. He must think I'm nuts right now, and I try as hard as I can to ignore that. I suddenly find myself sitting in front of an empty plate. I dash out of the kitchen and go to where it all started – the attic.

I remember all of it like it was yesterday. I was thirteen, my brother eight, and we were playing outside; playing being a relative term here, since I already considered myself too old for dolls and cars. Still, I enjoyed humoring him. My mother and father were watching us, curled on a bench. I recall dad asking me to get something from that very same attic; I can't remember what it was. I went upstairs – back then, I was more obeying – and started searching for that something. Instead, I found another thing. A book. It didn't seem like it had much to it; just an ancient book, full of dust. When I opened it, it was like this world collapsed on me and I was in some sort of surreal existence. There were boys, and girls, there, and my mother's writing described their deaths in the most gruesome way. That's when I found out about the Hunger Games, and the tributes, and everything. No one was supposed to know I knew, so I kept the appearences. I took the book to my room, and read a little bit of it every now and then. I kept waiting for my mom and dad to tell me all of that themselves, but they never did, and our relationship severely deteriored from that. I became cold, they acted like they didn't care. And I hated them for it.

That day, I swore I would keep my brother in the dark. It was a promise I intended to keep.


	2. Secrets

They were catching on me. The mutts. I'm running to the Cornucopia, but hopelessly. It seems like it's getting farther away with every step I take. I try to run faster, but my feet seem like they're tangled up. I can hear all of them, right behind me. Their breath tickles my neck.

And suddenly, it's all over. My brother is standing next to me. I automatically assume that he was the one who woke me up. I give him a big hug. I notice that his lips are moving. Have I been tuning out everything he said? Then I start to regain my senses.

"You had another nightmare, didn't you?", he asks me. All I can do right now is nod with my head. "Oh, Lil, when are you going to stop acting like you haven't changed?"

It's amazing how quick he can see right through me. It's been three years since I knew, and I always felt like he knew I know the instant I came downstairs from that damn attic. His eyes express puppies no more; he's worried, I can tell. But he has this… this fire in his eyes, like he could do anything. He's only eleven, but he looks like he's my age. Life has been kind on him, which pushed him to do adventurous, or, as I saw them, extreme things. He could hunt. He was good with a knife. And he was also gorgeous. He had long, brown hair, and dreamy eyes. I can't imagine any girl that can resist him, even now, when he's so young I can only see him as a baby. Right now, though, it hits me. He's not a baby anymore. He's worried. He really is.

"Well?", he presses on. "Well nothing. It's true, I did have a nightmare, if it wasn't obvious until now, but you don't have to worry about it. Everybody has nightmares, don't they?". "They do, but no one actually cries in their sleep. At least, no one I know of, except you."

I did? It comes as a shock to me. I never, ever wanted him to perceive me as weak, so I always tried to seem strong and confident around him, like I could protect him from whatever. After all, he is my little brother, and he needs to have some sense of security.

His eyes now have the look that I dread most. Pity. "What do you pity me for? It's normal, I guess. It was intense. I couldn't help it." "Lily," – ugh, he won't stop! – "just tell me. It's obvious something has been bothering you for a long time now, and mom and dad don't care, not at all, but I do. I do, okay? And I thought we didn't have secrets". "Oh, we don't, sweetie, but this is something you would never –" "- understand?" I hate it when he interrupts me. "Well, you underestimate me. You always do. And I hate you when you treat me like I'm just a baby. You can see that I'm not anymore!". "That's true, you're not. But you have to understand that some things are best kept hidden. For protection, you know? And it's not only me". "Oh, mom and dad, too?". "Yeah. Sorry, kiddo, but –" "Hey! You're doing it again! I hate that word. Nevermind, just go back to bed. I know I will".

And he was gone. Just like that. Sometimes I wish we still shared one room, but it's a big house, and he wanted to "move out" as a present for his tenth birthday. I lay down on my back, contemplating whether or not to tell him. To get it off my chest. I suddenly feel like if I don't, all of that history will chase me forever and ever. I decide to sleep on it, and I succumb to the darkness.

In an instant, I'm back in what the book called an arena.


	3. Happenings

_Author's note: _I'm so sorry I haven't been able to update this in a while, I've just been overwhelmed with a lot of… stuff. Well, here goes nothing! Enjoy! x

I try to adjust to the sunlight as I start to distinguish my surroundings. Am I in some kind of woods? Is there a sea all around me? Soon I realize… none. I'm in a _jungle_. In the middle, the Cornucopia, which is so far away that I can barely see it; however, I _know_ it's there. I look at my feet, and I'm standing on a metal circle plate. _This must be it,_ I think. _This is what my mum and dad felt. This is how the Hunger Games feel like._

For a moment, just a brief, little moment, I stop to think. And I enjoy it. I enjoy the rush. Inside, I know it doesn't feel right to like the idea of twenty-four people killing themselves… twenty-four… I wonder who the other tribute from my district is. I try to look around, but I see absolutely no familiar faces.

Then the minute passes.

Everyone starts running in random directions. I dash forward, not caring that there is going to be a bloodbath right in front of me. My instinct tells me to go for the Cornucopia as fast as my feet can. And that's exactly what I do. I run, and it feels like I'm running with a hundred miles per second. The adrenaline kicks in, and I start running faster, and faster…

Until I wake up to the face of my worried father. _Shoot, did he really have to spoil it?_ I think to myself as I scratch my eyes.

"Honey, are you alright? You were having a nightmare. Look at you, you're all sweaty!"

"I'm ok", I assure him as I slowly, heavily lift to change my shirt. "I didn't have a nightmare, though."

"Yes, you did. You were clinging to your pillow like your life was depending on it, and you were constantly shifting in your bed."

_It didn't feel like a nightmare to me,_ I think. But, of course, I can't tell him that. I can only imagine what would come next: he would ask me about _what_ I dreamt, and that has become my own little secret. I awkwardly change my damp shirt, and my father puts me back to bed, with a little kiss on the forehead. It's amazing how extremely comforting these things he does can be.

The rest of the night, I sleep a dreamless sleep.

I try to adjust to the sunlight as I start to distinguish my surroundings. I soon discover that I'm in my bed. Of course, I wouldn't be this lucky as to have that beautiful dream again. My family, already seated, is waiting for me.

"Morning, sweetie", my mom greets me with one of her reassuring smiles. "Are you ready for your first day of high school?"

"What?"

"It's September the 15th, honey. Oh, please don't tell me you forgot!"

"But we weren't even shopping!"

"Of course we were!"

"No, we weren't. Do you think I wouldn't remember something like school shopping?"

"Lily, darling, yesterday we spent the entire day doing just that!'

It suddenly hit me. September the 6th? How can that be?

When my father put me to bed last night, it was summer. I was absolutely positive about that. And now it was September, all of a sudden.

"Wait, mom, high school? It's my first day of high school? I started high school a year ago!"

"No, Lily. You start this year. It's September the 6th, 2011."

2011.

_2011._

All of a sudden the ground beneath my feet starts to shift and I collapse. I can't hear a thing anymore.

I didn't know what was happening.


End file.
